Witness Testimony

Dr. Wesley Mack testified that Ontario churches were ordered closed beginning March 16, 2020, and remained largely restricted for over two years under shifting provincial lockdown frameworks. He described progressive limitations including 10-person caps, colour-zone restrictions in the GTA, mandatory masking, six-foot spacing, and periods where only vaccinated individuals were permitted to attend services. He stated that unvaccinated attendees were at times required to sit in segregated sections. He testified that full reopening was not permitted until Easter services in April 2022.
Mack explained that within the three large Toronto-area churches he was closely connected to, leadership committees were formed to implement provincial directives. Two churches excluded unvaccinated individuals during certain periods even when not strictly mandated. He described pastors being arrested in other churches that resisted closures, with some receiving substantial fines or jail time. He also referenced a public appeal by the Archbishop of Toronto requesting reopening, which he stated was followed by further lockdown measures.
He testified that the long-term effects on congregations have been severe, including church closures, building sales, financial strain, pastoral resignations, and significant attendance decline—often reduced to 50 percent or less of pre-lockdown levels. He described widespread depression, loss of community, and spiritual disconnection among congregants. In his view, corporate worship and fellowship are foundational to Christian doctrine, and prolonged prohibition of assembly had devastating emotional and communal consequences.